


Rogue Variable

by staredecisis



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Slow Burn, the slowest burn of them all
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-10-27 23:09:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10818687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/staredecisis/pseuds/staredecisis
Summary: When Mina Sullivan wakes up to find her son kidnapped and the world as she knew it in ruins, she vows to stop at nothing to find him and avenge her husband's death. However, as she grows more involved with the shadowed organization known as the Railroad and the Commonwealth nears the brink of war, Mina must decide who she will be and just how much she is willing to sacrifice.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey friends! Just so you know, this is will definitely touch on a lot of canon events and interactions, but I'll almost always create new dialogue and insert new aspects in order to keep things from becoming too familiar. That being said, a lot of this will also draw on entirely new content. Please let me know what you think, comments and kudos are vastly appreciated and be on the lookout for the next chapter in the next few days! :)

Her mind automatically flickers through the elements of self-defense, a reflex that’s grown more honed since the ice had melted from her skin. She hadn’t been the aggressor, had given them the opportunity to back the  _ fuck  _ off and her reaction had been equal to the force shown. This would be a good case for self-defense. Hell, she could even successfully defend herself for this despite having not touched criminal law since her second year. 

Yes, she could easily defend herself in a court of law if there were any left standing amongst the ruins of a rusted world. 

_ Thirteen.   _ The next step. The number itself was nauseating, but it’s a distant sort of horror now. Mina supposes distantly that it was a testament to the resilience of the human psyche, the ability to adapt in order to survive. Thirteen dead in less than four days and her hands no longer shake. The first time she’d dropped the tire iron because they trembled so violently and then vomited in some rusted trash bin. A leftover instinct, the desire to try not to leave too much of a mess in a public space; an instinct entirely out of place in a world that seems to have eroded away entirely. 

She sighs, leans down and scratches behind Dogmeat’s ears. It’s a strange name, the sort of one given by an old woman high as a kite, but Dogmeat doesn’t seem to mind it. He seemed to have grown accustomed to it, if anything, and for that the name sticks. Nate had always wanted a dog. He’d have wanted a dog like this, Mina doesn’t doubt, and the corner of her lips raise upward in a tired smile. Yes, this was the sort of dog Nate would have adored and god, already she owes it her life more times over than she’d care to consider. “First thing I recognize that’s good for dogs,” She nods, offering a final scratch as Dogmeat pants contentedly, “You’ll be  _ feasting _ , boy.”

Mina briefly searches through the pockets of the two raiders strewn before her and works to avoid any blood staining her fingers. A few caps, a handful of bullets. Nothing praiseworthy, but more than she’d had a few minutes ago. She’d always hated the taste of Nuka-Cola. It’d tasted like liquid candy to her, over sweet and pure syrup, but Jesus Christ, she wishes she’d ordered it in bulk now. 

Of all the currencies she’d have guessed would loosely bind together the world after it ended, it sure as hell hadn’t been  _ bottlecaps. _

Then again, she never expected to be following the vague ramblings of an old woman through the streets of Boston, searching for some kind of a heart. Mina sighs and treks forward, Dogmeat sniffing ahead. She’d known this city inside and out, could trace its alleys and landmarks and bridges and skyscrapers in her mind’s eye, but it seems utterly foreign now. Everything is alien, shattered and bloody and upturned. Every step seems something new and she makes a note to remember Boston as it was before, as it  _ should  _ be. She doesn’t want to forget that, no matter what happens. 

A brief jolt of hope ripples through her as she spies a spray painted message, bright against aged concrete.  _ Diamond City _ , complete with an arrow large enough that even she can figure out which way to go. Mina had racked her brain for any memory of something called that, anything that could possibly given a hint as to what she was searching for. Great Green Jewel? Her first instinct had been some jewelry store, but Garvey had said a city and unless cities had gotten decidedly smaller since the bombs dropped, Mina suspected she was looking for something bigger. 

“Come on, boy,” She calls out to Dogmeat and a few blocks of blasted sidewalk and littered rubbish later, she spies a massive wall looming out from above the chaos. Another sign points towards it.  _ No fucking way.  _  Maybe the courts are gone, sure, alongside any semblance of a real working government, but at least baseball’s survived. The moment of understanding passes and it’s replaced by a rush of energy, a sudden exhilaration that she’s not felt since before the bombs. 

Diamond City is ahead and Diamond City means answers. Answers mean  _ Shaun. _

She breaks into a sprint, fingers curled around the trigger of the tarnished pistol she’d gotten off a raider back in Concord. A turret clicks past her, a blur of shining chrome, and she leaps over a concrete barricade. “Jesus, lady-,”

The voice catches her off guard and Mina whirls, gun instantly raised and held upwards with a confidence she’d lacked a few days ago. A man stands before her, wearing some kind of armor, and a baseball wrapped with barbed wire. Dogmeat growls at her side.

“Woah now,” The bat is tapped against his hand and it’s only then Mina realizes he’s wearing that stuff catchers used to wear, a goddamn chest plate and some kind of makeshift helmet. “Just what exactly are you running from? Chances are, if you’re running from something, it’s gonna’ run this way and then it’s gonna’ be  _ my  _ problem.”

“I’m looking for Diamond City,” Pistol remains pointed towards him and though she can’t see his eyes, his posture hints he’s not exactly threatened, “I-, I need to get there, need to speak with someone.” 

“Looks like you’re in a pretty big hurry, too,” His arms fold over his chest, “I’m a guard, lady. How about you put that thing down and stop lookin’ like you’re going to shoot the first thing that moves?” She cautiously obliges and he continues. “Damn, you never heard of Diamond City? Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth, our fair city. You from out of town?”

“Yeah,” She decides she’s like to choke the next person who calls it that, “I’m, uh-,...I’m from up north.” A lie, but not the worst she’s ever told by any stretch of the imagination. 

The guard clicks his tongue with mild interest. “Head two blocks south and you’ll reach the gates. Anything you’re needing, you’ll find it there. Hell, we even got ourselves a church.”

The irony tastes bitter in her mouth. What do you even pray for when there’s nothing left? When the world’s been wiped clean and left to rot? “Great, thanks. I appreciate it.” She attempts a smile and it’s weak, feels plastic on her lips. A soft whistle and Dogmeat’s padding alongside her again.

“And hey, don’t go pointing your gun at everyone!” Mina doesn’t look over her shoulder as the guard calls out, “People don’t exactly like that around here!”

Pointing a gun at everyone is what’s seemed to keep her alive so far, for that most part, so she decides to ignore that advice. The wall looms larger and larger with every step and Mina brushes messied hair out of her eyes, tilts her head back and spies the stadium lights against the sunset. Nate had been a Sox fan. It’d be a point of debate in their household. She’d only ever been to one game back in law school but had decided to adopt them as her chosen team solely because it seemed to annoy the hell out of him. They’d come to a game just after they’d moved, tickets courtesy of her boss, and Nate had been so thrilled he’d practically seemed a child. They’d even ended up on the kiss cam, she remembers, and the Mr. Handy doling out snacks had given them free popcorn as payment for the brief rush of embarrassment and thrill. 

Her stomach lurches at the memory. The joy of it fades, replaced by a gnawing grief. Mina blinks quickly, working to stave off the tears pooling in the corner of her eyes.  _ For Nate _ , fingernails dig into the tender flesh of her palm as she reminds herself of why she’s here,  _ for Shaun.  _

She hears someone banging against the gate before she even sees it. Mina rounds the corner and keeps back, resting a hand on Dogmeat’s head to keep him at her side. The woman’s sporting a ragtag assemblage of colors and fabrics, but Mina can’t help but be impressed that it’s somehow decidedly fashionable. It’s significantly better than the padded jacket and combat pants four sizes too large that currently adorn herself. 

“I swear, Danny, if some raider swoops in and kills me because I am stuck out  _ here _ , like a sitting  _ duck _ ,” Each word is punctuated with a broad wave of her hands, directed towards an intercom, “I am going to come back and haunt the ever loving hell out of you. Huh? How’s that? You think I’m annoying now, you try putting up with me for  _ eternity _ .”

The intercom crackles. “Come on, Piper, it’s not like it’s my choice, you know that. I just-”

“What you’re doing, Danny, is allowing yourself to be a puppet of tyranny! Hey, that’s not a bad headline either!” Hands spread wide and the woman’s voice glows with awe. “ _ Diamond City guards fall prey to dictator! Tyranny spreads throughout the Commonwealth! _ ”

“That’s not fair!” The voice whines, equally irritated and insulted. “You and your paper don’t pay me, Piper! I’m just trying to make a living. You gotta be careful with what you write! McDonough-, Piper, he was really skeeved about that whole thing and now everyone’s talking! You had to know this was coming. I-, I’m sorry, I really am.”

A frustrated screech emits from the woman. “I’ll remember this, Danny! I expected better from you! I live here, after all, in case you’ve  _ forgotten _ !” She glances over her shoulder, taking notice of Mina for the first time. Mina remains still as her gaze slowly sweeps over her. “Hey, lady, you’re here to get into Diamond City, right?”

Mina pauses, senses there’s an unspoken condition attached, but nods. 

“Perfect.” The woman grins mischievously, gesturing her forward and lowering her voice. “Just play along, ok? Work with me here.” She coughs, leans forward towards the intercom. “Woah, a whole  _ caravan  _ right behind you, huh? Damn, an entire caravan of Fancy Lad Snackcakes, too?” Mina blinks, those nasty things still  _ exist _ ? “Well, I guess we can feast on them as we’re stuck out here, trapped outside the comfort and protection of Diamond City and Myrna. Guess the whole city won’t be able to-”

“Alright, Piper, just give it up,” The intercom crackles again and Mina hears a long, exasperated sigh. “God, you’re relentless.”

Piper seems to take that as a compliment, grinning smugly and gesturing towards the rusted green gate as a mechanical grind begins to echo through the street. “Yeah, unless you really do have a caravan behind you, you should probably duck in as quick as you can. You new around here? Don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

She’s glad she decided to ditch the Vault uniform back in Sanctuary, grateful for the overlarge jacket whose sleeve just covers the bulge of the Pipboy around her wrist. “I’m from up north,” Mina nods gently, “I’m, uh, I’m here to try and find someone.” 

“If they’re not here and you suspect they’ve fallen on the wrong side of the tracks, give Goodneighbor a look.” Piper nods and steps back as the gate shudders, slowly rising upwards. “Good luck, lady, and uh-, if you don’t mind my saying, you might wanna check out the Dugout Inn. You’re looking a little worse for wear, no offense.”

Mina resists the urge to snort. “None taken. It’s been a long couple days.” 

The gate stops and Piper strides forward confidently, Mina following cautiously behind. She reaches a hand out and slowly brushes a finger over the abandoned ticket aisles. It doesn’t seem all that long ago that she and Nate had waited patiently in line, the Mr. Handy scanning their tickets and voicing appreciation for their patronage. Jesus, it hadn’t been all that long ago but the world had kept moving in their absence, had shifted and burned. 

Dogmeat barks and she’s snapped out of her reverie. He rushes forward around a corner, seemingly thrilled by the perspective of endless new smells. “Hey!” She calls out for him, running forward to calm him down,“It’s alright, boy!”

“M’am,” A stern voice greets her, “If you could take control of your dog, I’d appreciate it. We don’t have a lot of pets here in Diamond City, much less wild ones.” The voice belongs to a stout man and he’s cleaner and more put together than anyone she’s seen since the Vault. 

She quickly gathers Dogmeat, kneeling and running her fingers through his fur. “He’s not wild, he’s just really excited, that’s all.”

“Either way,” The man nods, “If you could keep a close eye on him, I’m certain the citizens here would appreciate-” He glances over her shoulder and polite visage sours. He strides forward, apparently no longer caring. “Piper! Just how exactly did you get back in here? I thought I told the guards to keep you out after your vile slander!”

Mina turns just in time to see Piper wince, attempts at sneaking back into the city foiled. She sighs, turning sharp on her heels. “Pretty sure you just can’t will me away, McDonough! We both know if that worked, you’d have been free of me a long time ago!” Arms fold over her chest. “Cheap move, just going ahead and locking me out like that.” 

“You should be lucky I’m not having the guards kick you out again for what you wrote!” He huffs angrily and Mina thinks she can see a vein pulsing in his neck. “Your lies threaten the social fabric of our fair city, Piper! Seek to undo all the trust this community has in its elected leaders! You should be grateful I don’t have that printing press scrapped for parts and put towards something actually useful!”

Genuine anger glimmers briefly on Piper’s pretty features, but fades into a determined resoluteness. “You mind if I quote that, McDonough? Write up a quick little bit about how Diamond City’s mayor is looking to scrap every instrument of the free press left standing in the Commonwealth?” Piper swivels and sets her gaze on Mina, who realizes she’s been standing and staring the entire time. “How about you, huh? You a believer in the news, the power of the  _ press?  _ Mayor here’s looking to get rid of free speech once and for all.”

For the first time since the bombs fell, it seems like a question she can truly answer. “I do,” Mina replies coolly, softly, “I support freedom of speech, an independent and unrestricted press.”  


_ My name is Mina Sullivan. I used to fight for freedom of speech _ .  _ I used to fight for a lot of things. _

It seems the easy eloquence of her answer, one practiced over careful press conferences and countless late night strategy sessions, catches them both off guard. Piper looks impressed. The mayor looks perplexed.

He blinks, stutters, and steps forward. Off comes his hat and he lowers it to his chest, courteous smile a far cry from his demeanour only moments ago. “I’m so sorry Ms. Wright felt the need to drag you into that, m’am. We’re always glad to have new visitors here, certainly ones as educated and thoughtful as yourself!” So this is what politicians look like now, Mina decides as he steps closer still. His mustache is carefully trimmed, his face crowded with far less scars than those of the raiders she’s encountered or the group led by Garvey. “Please, come inside and let my office know if we can be of any assistance. Diamond City’s the very finest the Commonwealth has to offer, our market is certainly testament to that! Any thing in the world you could be wanting! Why, we even have a barber that-”

“Geez, McDonough, save the speech. Look at her, you think she’d rather sit here and listen to your spiel or actually get some real food?” Piper rolls her eyes dismissively, leans down to pat Dogmeat who’s sniffing her shoe with renewed curiosity. “Come on, lady, let’s get you going.”

They’re already walking down the stands when Mina hears McDonough call out for her to feel welcome, ignore everything Piper’s said. “So that’s the mayor?”

“Charming, isn’t he?” Another vicious roll of Piper’s eyes. “He’s not exactly  _ fond _ of me, as I’m sure you can guess. He likes people who tow the line, don’t go digging up anything that might come off as unseemly, even if it’s the truth.” 

Mina offers a small smile. “Glad to see some things don’t change. Where I’m from,”  _ When _ I’m from, “Politicians are exactly the same.” They step onto a walkway and her eyes widen in wonder, gaze slowly roaming over the neon signs beaming against the darkness. It’s a city. Well, at least, it’s the closest thing she’s seen to a city. The diamond is filled with shacks and cluttered streets adorned with sheet metal and scraps, a center space making what she assumes must be the market. Stranger still are the rows of homes littering the seats and spiraling up into the grandstands, winding pathways and cobbled together staircases leading the way. She can see people milling about on what used to be a field, faded signs adorning homes and buildings. It’s strange and wondrous and daunting all at once. 

“Bet you didn’t have anything like that back in your vault, huh?” Mina’s head swivels and Piper grins, “Sorry, but I figured as much.”

“Is it that obvious?”

One shoulder ambles upwards in a lazy shrug, “Maybe not to most people, but me? I’ve got an eye for detail, you have to in my line of work.” Piper takes a step back, gesturing towards her. “My guess is that’s a Pipboy under your jacket or you happen to be wearing the world’s most elaborate watch. You’re paler than anyone I’ve ever seen in the Wealth’ and you’re staring at everything like it’s the first time you’ve ever seen it. Which, I suppose, is probably the case.” 

A hand is suddenly thrust forward and her smile softens, “I’m sure it’s overwhelming. Guess I should properly introduce myself. Piper Wright, editor in chief of  _ Publick Occurrences _ . Heard of other vaulties like you. There were a few down in the Capitol a couple years back, from what I’ve heard, but it’s the first time we’ve had any up here in...ages, really.”

“Others?” She asks hungrily, anxiously, “You mean there’s been other vault survivors?” Mina realizes she’s forgotten to return the handshake and does so now, “Mina Sullivan. I, uh-, I’m from Vault 111.” An easier explanation than the truth. Dogmeat seems to bark in agreement by her side, only to pad off and contentedly begin to dig through a bare patch of dirt at the end of the walkway. 

Piper nods and gently guides her down the walkway towards the bustling city, “Nice to meet you, Mina. Yeah, I don’t know too much unfortunately, but there were tons of vaults, apparently. Those Vault-Tec guys were up to all sorts of shady shit, there’s all sorts of horror stories about what went on in some of them.” 

Mina’s stomach churns and she remembers stepping out from the Cyrolator, a thin sheen of ice melting from her skin. Everyone had been dead,  _ Nate had been dead _ , and no explanation. “They lied to us,” She murmurs bitterly, “None of us knew what was happening, what was going to happen.” 

Piper nods. “Seems to be the general consensus from what I’ve heard. You said you were looking for something earlier. Now, most of you guys don’t crawl outta your vaults unless something’s gone really, really wrong. Just what exactly brought you to Diamond City?”

Stomach grumbling loudly, embarrassingly so, as the scent of food wafts towards her, Mina pauses. Her tongue swipes over her lower lip as she chooses her words carefully, “ I’m trying to find a missing person, a-, a baby. A woman told me to come here to find answers, to find a heart.” A sigh. “I don’t know what that means. I don’t really know what anything means. Do you have police or anything anymore?” She quickly corrects herself. “Here-, do you have any police here I could talk to?”

Her question is returned with a roll of her eyes and a jaded laugh. “Technically, yeah, but in terms of usefulness? Not really. See, we’ve had a problem here with people up and disappearing,  _ lots  _ of people. More than enough to cause worry, but McDonough? He doesn’t let anyone investigate, doesn’t wanna devote city resources to doing something actually freakin’ useful. He likes to pretend the whole problem doesn’t exist, a lot of people round here do. I guess it’s easier than accepting the truth, you know? Because sometimes the truth is scary.” Piper blinks then, gaze widening in sudden revelation. “Heart? Did you say heart?”

“Yeah,” Mina replies curiously, “But I don’t know what it means.”

Piper beams proudly, earning her the cautious look of a nearby guard. Mina suspected her name was more than a little well known to just about every guard. “I think I do! Diamond City’s got the best detective in the whole damn Wealth’, Nick Valentine.” Her grin grows. “His office? It’s got a neon  _ heart  _ outside and besides, if you’re looking to find someone, there’s no one better for it than Nick.” 

Mina feels a swell of excitement and something more dangerous yet,  _ hope.  _ She works to mask it, keeps her voice level, but it creeps into her words nonetheless. “Is he here? Can I meet with him?” It’s too much of a coincidence, of that she’s certain.  _ This has to be the right place, the right person.  _

“Yeah! Pretty sure he’s always up, I don’t think he even sleeps. Um, that being said, no offense, but you look like you could use a little rest first. When’s the last time you slept?”

She wants to reply that she’s slept for an awfully long time, hasn’t slept well since before the bombs. “I slept last night, but only for an hour or so.” A faint smile appears, tired and almost sheepish. “This hasn’t exactly been an easy transition.”

“Understandable. But hey, I’ve got an idea.” Piper nods towards one of the ramshackle buildings, an enormous sign hoisted above declaring it  _ Publick Occurrences _ . “You look like you could use a few hours of shut eye and some food, I could use a story. How about you stay the night at my place, rest up, and in the morning we go talk to Nick. In return, you give me exclusive rights to your story.”

Mina’s brow furrows. “My story?”

“Absolutely!” Piper seems practically giddy, begins nudging her towards the office. Another guard looks warily their way and Mina spies the curious stares of someone sitting at what looks like a restaurant counter. “You have any idea how thrilling your story is? We haven’t had someone from a vault turn up in-, oh geez, it’s gotta’ be decades! Besides, the public deserves to know what went on with the vaults!” 

Her enthusiasm is contagious enough Mina can’t help but nod and besides, food sounds enormously appealing. As Piper closes the door behind them, she feels guilty for not going immediately to find Valentine, for allowing herself rest while Shaun is...somewhere, somewhere away for her. However, she consoles herself with a quick reminder that she’s useless if she’s  _ dead _ , whether it be from hunger or exhaustion or anything resembling that fucking monster back at Concord. 

If she can’t stay alive for herself, she’ll do it for Shaun. 

  



	2. Chapter Two

“I like her,” Nat blows on her tea, absently watching the steam rise from a worn mug, “She’s nice.” 

Piper glances upwards with a small smile, “You’d like anyone that let you play with a Pipboy.” 

Nat grins sheepishly, adjusting the dial once again. It crackles briefly before falling on Diamond City radio, the aggressively overplayed tones of  _ Rocket 69  _ filling the room. “Travis sucks,” She scrunches her nose, peering down at the device curiously and Piper works to hold back a laugh, “If someone pays me,  _ I’ll  _ be a better DJ.”

“Turn it down a little bit,” Piper cautions gently, “Let the poor lady get some sleep. God knows she’s been through enough.” 

She’s pleased when Nat doesn’t put up a fight, (she clearly got that from someone), and instead turns the radio off completely. The upstairs room fills with a pale green glow, almost eerie against the candlelight. Mina’s been crashed on the couch downstairs for hours now, absolutely dead to the world within moments of laying her head down with Dogmeat curled up protectively at her feet. It’d have been funny if Piper didn’t pity her. 

Dinner had been a quick affair and she was relieved Nat didn’t ask too much questions, stare at Mina as she’d gulped down food ravenously. Piper’s cooking had always been acceptable at best, so onset starvation seemed to make Mina quite the fan. 

Piper glances upwards from her notes as Nat whispers, reaches out a hand across the mattress they’re both sitting on. “I can proofread when you’re done?” A wry grin appears. “I’m better at writing than anyone else at school. It makes the boys angry.”

“If boys are angry at you, chances are you’re doing something right.” The statement is quickly conditioned with, “Just so long as you’re not getting detention.  _ Again _ .” 

“I won’t get detention as long as no one tries to kiss me.” Nat’s nose scrunches in disdain, “Come on, Piper, can I read it? You wouldn’t let me listen and I’ve been  _ dying  _ to find out what she said!”

“I didn’t want you to listen because…listen, Nat, some of this stuff is ugly, ok? I mean, this is  _ sad _ and she didn’t need to worry about being honest or not because she didn’t want you to hear it. I know you can handle it, hell, you’ve handled all sorts of things, but she didn’t. You understand?”

Nat’s silent for a long moment and Piper watches her dark eyes flicker in the light. She takes a sip of her tea before nodding. “Yeah, I do.”

“Good.” With that, Piper dots her pencil once final time against the faded paper, sliding it over to her sister. “It’d been  _ quite  _ a day, so be honest if it doesn’t read that well.” It startles her how much Nat looks like her then, hunched over the paper and absently tapping the pencil against her lip in thought. She’d been the same at her age, headstrong and willful and hungry for  _ something  _ akin to the truth, clawing for the closest thing she could get to righteous honesty. Piper wonders if she should feel proud or worried. Her life was dangerous, after all, and justice warranted no small amount of enemies. Nat deserves something easier than what she’s had. 

“What’s a  _ law-yur _ ?” Nat glances upwards, brow furrowed. 

“Oh, that’s what she used to do,” Piper explains, “Back before the bombs, there were a lot of rules and if you broke them, you’d go talk to people like her. Imagine if Diamond City had a ton more rules and they were all really, really confusing, Nat. She’d help you figure out the rules you broke and try and get you in less trouble.” 

“You mean there used to be more rules than what Diamond City has?” Nat sounds mortified by the concept. Piper tries not to laugh. 

“Diamond City doesn’t have  _ that _ many rules, sis, it’s just that we seem to have a particular gift for breaking them. Pretty we’re the reason they write the rules.” 

“Then what’s a civil liberty?” Nat glances back down to the paper, nose scrunching in thought. “She says she used to do lit-,” She pauses, tries the word again, “ _ Litigation _ .” 

“Yeah, she had to explain that to me, too.” Piper stands and begins undressing, carefully placing her beloved jacket over a small stool. A worn t-shirt and pants are slipped on next, light and comfortable and familiar. She gestures towards the Pipboy and Nat obliges her by turning it off. “Back before the bombs, there were certain things you could do no matter what anyone said because you were a citizen.”

“Citizen of what?” Nat questions and Piper’s glad the room’s dark enough to hide her smile. She’s quick, Nat, dangerously clever. Blowing out the candle, she slips beneath the blanket and makes room for Natalie to join her. She does and Piper’s comforted by her familiar, small form. 

“Back then, this used to be one whole country, even the Capitol down south and all the way out in the NCR.” She can’t see, but she knows Nat’s eyes must have widened in wonder. “If you lived in  _ America _ , you got certain rights. Like, the government just couldn’t come in and steal all of your stuff or-,” She searches for another example that Mina had offered. Mina had looked more exhausted than ever to learn that those sorts of things, those civil liberties or whatever, were as dead as the world she’d known before the bombs. There’s been a distant sort of grief in her eyes, different from then when she talked about her son or husband, almost disappointment. “You can ask her tomorrow, just try not to overwhelm her, ok?”

“Ok,” Nat whispers and there’s a long moment of silence before she adds, “She doesn’t look that old.” 

“Nope, guess whatever Vault-Tec cooked up made sure of that.” 

“Do you think she’s gonna’ find her son?” 

Piper inhales slowly, swipes her tongue over her lower lip. “I dunno’, Nat, especially if the Institute’s involved. She’s determined though, I’ll give her that. She’s made it this far already, she doesn’t seem the type to just roll over and give up like everyone else in this stupid city.” 

She had decided to leave Mina’s last words out of the paper.  _ You have to hope,  _ she had said and Piper found herself struck by the determined clarity in her voice, the unwavering certainty,  _ You have to hope you’ll see the person you care about again. That hope means you have to fight, though, no matter what anyone tells you. You hope and fight to find the people you love again and no one can take that hope away.  _ Piper thinks herself cynical, idealism somewhat tarnished by a decade of politics in Diamond City, but the statement had been stirring in its simplicity, honesty. That honesty was something rare not only within the towering green walls of the city, but the Wealth’ itself. 

Mina had continued on, however, after a moment, and the hope in her stormy gaze had hardened. “And when I find the people that took my son, my husband, I’m going to make them pay. Whatever it takes, however long it takes, I’m going to find them.” Her voice was cool now, calm enough to almost lack any emotion. “You can write that, if you want. They can know I’m coming for them.” It had sent a shiver down her spine, the icy finality of it. 

Piper tugs Natalie closer, feels her dark hair tickle her lips. “You know I’d do the same for you, right? No matter what happens, even if it was the Institute, I’d track them to hell and back to find you.” 

“I know, Piper.” Nat whispers and her hand finds Piper’s in the dark, squeezing it tightly. Kid should’ve had a mother to tell her this, not a sister. “I know you would.” 

Piper feels Natalie drift off soon enough, her breathing evening out and soft in the dark. 

\-----------

_ She’s screaming for Nate, voice hoarse and cracking in its desperation, and she swears she’s choking as the hand tightens around her throat. Nate,  _ **_Nate_ ** _ , please come-, where are you, help me Nate help me help me please Nate just-  _

_ Amidst the panic a bolt of sudden, devastating clarity strikes her. Nate isn’t coming to save her, coming to pull the man off of her and take his hand from her neck. Nate isn’t coming because Nate is dead. Nate is dead. There’s no one to save her because Nate is dead. They shot him and he’s dead.  _

_ Her eyes well up with tears and her clawing fingers slow as she watches the darkness at the edges of her vision grow. She’s already scratched the man atop her, can feel his skin lodged beneath her fingertips. He’s still trying to undo her pants, breath warm and foul against her cheek. She hadn’t seen him hiding amongst the hollowed ruins of cars. His arm had wrapped around her throat, pulled her down to the ground and he’s growling something, still is. She’d fought, snarled and snapped and kicked but it’s so hard to breathe now and the cracked pavement is cool against her back. Mina thinks distantly of Shaun as there’s no air left in her lungs. Her head feels empty, lighter and the world blurs as the hand tightens its grip.  _

_ Shaun honey don’t worry I’m coming I’ll find you I’m coming hold on hold on hold- _

_ Just when everything is ready to fade away, impossible to resist, she hears something growl and suddenly the man is yelling. There’s a rush of color, fur, and snarling. Mina gasps for air as she can finally reach it again, her lungs screaming. She sucks in breath after breath, gasping and crying, and the snarling is louder. He’s off of her now and as her vision comes into focus, there’s something on him. The man is roaring and she hears the sound of tearing as something attacks him.  _

_ It occurs to her suddenly that it’s a dog. _

_ She draws in another breath and rolls onto her side, extending a hand outward. Fingers curling around a length of pipe, Mina distantly realizes it’s a tire iron. She grasps it, stands shakily to her feet, and feels fury well up in her. She snarls herself and rushes forward as the dog whines, is kicked away by the man. Instinct takes over and she’s hurling the tire iron downwards. It vibrates through her arm as it comes in contact with his head, enough that she nearly drops it, but Mina doesn’t. He screams and there’s blood everywhere. She can still feel his skin under her nails. The iron raises again and she hurls it downwards, desperate and shaking. His face softens then, something giving. She hits him again and again and no one should ever touch her like that, he tried to hurt her, kill her and- _

Mina’s eyes snap open and she draws in a sharp breath, pulse rabbit quick in her veins. Dogmeat looks up at her curiously, a soft whine in the back of his throat, and she sighs with relief.  _ Thank you, boy.  _ A hand brushes affectionately through his fur. She’s safe, she’s here. 

“You all good, Blue?” 

Mina blinks the last remnants of sleep from her eyes, sits upwards with a slow groan. “Blue?” 

“I’ve seen some of those old Vault suits before,” Piper states cheerily above a steaming cup of tea, “Blue? Not my color personally, but I imagine it would suit you _ stunningly _ .” 

She can’t help but resist the shadow of a smile. “Clashed with my hair, I’m afraid.” 

“I’m sure Nick’s office is open by now, if you wanna head over,” Piper offers gently, “There’s some food in the fridge if you’re hungry. Can’t guarantee it’s pre-bomb quality, but you’ll get used to things soon enough. Fancy Lads Snack Cakes? Practically Christmas when you can find them.” 

“Duly noted,” Mina runs a hand through tousled hair, works to ignore the aches spread throughout her body. They eat quickly and her heart aches to see Piper wave Natalie off to school, her Pipboy returned adoringly over her wrist before she darts out the door. She should be back in Sanctuary now, with Nate and with Shaun shoving books into his backpack and waiting outside on the sidewalk for the school bus. She should be with them now, they should all be together. 

Instead, she’s here and she’s alone. 

She waves off the bitterness as they make their way towards Valentine’s office. It’s a beautiful day, if nothing else, and the bright sky above shows no hint of the radiation no doubt pulsing within clouds. Diamond City is more approachable by day, Mina decides, and bustling enough that if Piper wasn’t by her side she wouldn’t be attracting any gazes at all. It’s overwhelming, everything to look at, to try and understand, and she’s grateful for Piper’s guidance. She does, however, recognise what looks like bowls of noodles being doled out in the center of the market. At least there’s that. 

They head down an alley, past a guard that sternly reminds Piper to be on her best behavior. The comment earns him a dazzling grin from Piper and signals she clearly has no intention of doing so. “Are these-,” Mina considers her words, “Are these houses normal in the Commonwealth? They’re houses, right?”

“Yeah, better than most of what you’re going to find out there. People most stick to cities, unless they’re raiders. There’s Bunker Hill northeast of here, but that’s mostly caravans.” 

“Caravans are the people with the cows, right? The ones with two heads?”

Piper snorts. “Brahmin’s the technical term. I guess cow went away with the second head starting sprouting, but yeah. They travel all over the Wealth’, sometimes outside of it if they’re really ambitious. They’re basically what keeps everything in the shops in stock. Like I said, Bunker Hill’s their place and then there’s Goodneighbor. My advice? Unless you’re looking to get high, shanked or robbed of everything valuable on your person, or if you’re lucky some combination of the three, probably not number one at the list of places you wanna’ stop.” 

“Sounds like a thriving tourist destination,” Mina replies with a twitch of a grin, “I’m surprised I haven’t seen posters for it already.” She stops in her tracks then, gaze snapping onto a neon sign illuminating the alley. Even in the morning sun, it’s bright enough to reveal a flickering pink heart. Her heart beats quicker, skipping into her throat, and Mina walks more quickly towards the door while suppressing the urge to sprint. 

“That looks like what you might be looking for,” Piper offers softly and holds open the door for her, “You first, Blue.”

She glances down at Dogmeat and offers a quick smile. "Wait out here, boy, I'll be right back."

Mina steps in and blinks, eyes adjusting to the room. It’s small and cluttered, endless files all but spilling out of rusted filing cabinets lining the walls. A few posters hang up, sporting no apparent aesthetic aside from whatever survived the bombs. Then again, she decides this is probably what a detective’s office would have looked like prior to the war, anyway. 

A neatly dressed woman stands behind the desk, back faced towards them. She’s deep enough in thought that it’s clear she hasn’t taken notice of their presence, sighing under her breath and absently flipping through files. 

She and Piper exchange glances. Mina coughs lightly, “Excuse me, miss? I’m hoping to talk with a Mr. Valentine? I was told-”

“Office is closed, I’m sorry,” The woman turns sharply, but she sounds more tired than upset. Mina spies the dark circles beneath her eyes. “Mr. Valentine isn’t here.” 

“It’s, like, ten o’clock in the morning,” Mina stammers and swallows hard, gnawing the corner of her lip. She works not to allow frustration to creep into her words. “Is there a time Mr. Valentine will be here? Any chance I could make an appointment, maybe see-”

“I’m sorry, but like I said, miss, he’s not here. He’s,” Her voice wavers and she coughs, collecting herself, “Nick isn’t here right now and I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

“What happened to Nicky?” Piper interjects, brushing past Mina. There’s enough affection in her voice that it’s evident she’s truly worried, not just curious. “Ellie, honey, what’s wrong?” Ellie’s shoulders tremble. Her eyes well up with tears as Piper wraps a comforting arm around her, guides her gently to the chair. “What happened?

“He-,” Ellie sucks in a breath, wiping at the corner of her eyes with her wrist, “He took a job two weeks ago, left to try and find some girl that’d be kidnapped by Skinny Malone, that bastard. I told Nick to be careful, you know Skinny’s not the kind you wanna’ be messing with, but of course he didn’t listen.” The corner of her mouth raises upwards in an affectionate smile despite the tears. “He never does, always the gallant knight. I keep telling him one of these days he’s going to get himself into something he can’t shoot or talk his way out of, but I-,...oh god, Piper, I hope it’s not this time. I-, I haven’t heard  _ anything  _ from him, no one’s even  _ seen _ him! I don’t know what-” 

“I’ll find him.” Mina states firmly but gently. Both of their heads swivel towards her. She nods. “I’ll help find him, Ellie, I promise.” 

“Listen, miss, I don’t even know you and I don’t know where to start! I don’t-”

Mina slips into the seat across from her, reaches over the desk and takes her hand gently in her own. She’d learned how to do this sort of this back in school. Interviewing clients, consoling victims, was difficult; a practiced art. People came to lawyers when there were no other options, often during the worst parts of their lives. She’d learned, slowly but surely, how to trail the delicate line between consolation and determination. “My name is Mina Sullivan. I’ve lost someone too, I-, I’ve lost two people and I need Nick to help me find one of them.” She nods slowly, each word precise and calm.  _ Nate can’t be found,  _ her mind whispers and her chest aches,  _ You can’t rescue Nate.  _ “I know you’re scared right now, but I’ll find him for you, ok? Even if I didn’t need him, I would find him for you.”

She sees Piper smiling out of the corner of her eye, sense something like admiration on her pretty features. “Correction,  _ we’ll  _ find him for you, Ellie. How’s that sound, ok? You stay here and keep the office under control, maybe even try and organize Nick’s desk as a surprise for when he gets back, and we’ll go get him.” 

The tears welling up in Ellie’s eyes cease, even if only briefly, and a wavering but grateful smile appears. “I’d appreciate it. I don’t have a lot of caps to spare, but I can give you-”

“I don’t want it,” Mina replies immediately and catches Piper’s gaze. She nods. “We don’t want it, Ellie. It’s clear Nick does a whole lot of good for the Commonwealth, for a lot of people. We’ll get him back, I promise.” 

In a few minutes they’ve scraped together all the information Ellie has, albeit it not very much, and once the door clangs shut behind them, Piper’s expression softens. “That was real good of you, Blue.”

Mina offers a faint smile back, shrugs. “If as many people are disappearing as you say, we probably need more than one detective. Best keep the only one you all have got.” What she doesn’t say is that it feels good to be able to offer something, to be able to save  _ something.  _ It eases the sting still coiling in her lungs, dripping into her heart. Nate would have helped her. Nate would have helped the whole god damn world, it was what made him a good man and a poor soldier. 

“First thing’s first, then,” Piper snaps a finger towards her hip, “We have absolutely got to get you a new gun. That thing looks like it was used pre-war.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me. Got it off a raider and um, it’s not exactly what I would call precise. Or fast. Or even good, really.”

“Let’s go hook you up with Arturo then, how about that?” She nudges Mina forwards towards the market, “Oh, and if Myrna asks, just tell her you’re not a synth, ok? It’s easier that way. Just...you know, look  _ extra  _ human.” 

  
Mina’s brow furrows. 


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! From now on expect a lot of canonical quests and interactions to be mixed with original content! I'm looking to use the main questline as the sort of "skeleton" for this fic and then have the musculature be original material. I'm definitely looking to go more in depth and detail the backgrounds and backstories of some of the major characters, including but not limited to Hancock, Piper, Valentine, Elder "Apparently 23" Maxson, Piper and the Railroad Crew. That being said, I fully expect to give more detail to just about every companion and primary character throughout the game that Mina encounters. 
> 
> Additionally, if anyone would like individual chapters to be posted with trigger warnings, please let me know. I'm more than happy to put them in, just comment and let me know what you prefer. Thanks to everyone for reading and as a law student plugging away through finals right now, your comments and thoughts are incredibly appreciated so feel free to leave them! xoxo

He’s always had a particular skill for improvisation. Nick isn’t sure whether it’s old Nick to thank for that or if the Institute had been gracious enough to cross a few wires here and there. Either way, it works. Either way, it’s saved his ass more times than he cares to admit and he certainly hopes it’s going to save him now. He sits casually, fingers absently flipping an unlit cigarette as Dino’s ugly mug continues to sneer at him through the small window. 

“You comfy in there, Valentine? Want us to bring you some food, gettin’ a little hungry?” The mobster’s face breaks into a broad grin in preparation of his own joke, “Oh that’s right, you don’t  _ need  _ any because you’re a fuckin’  _ synth _ .” 

Valentine doesn’t so much as blink. “I’d be happy to take some off of your hands, if that’s an offer. Certainly looks like you could use cutting back a little, Dino.” He isn’t certain why Dino’s taken a strange liking to taunting him, suspects it’s trouble with synths, but the man’s an absolute idiot. Nick intends to take full advantage of that. He leans back all the more, metal fingers tapping against an ancient desk. “You talked to Skinny lately? Word is he doesn’t appreciate how you play  _ cards _ .”

He’s heard the other hired hands grumble about it before, how Dino always seems to have a lucky hand and especially lucky hands when there’s good money on the line. Nick’s noticed people always seem to forget he’s fully capable of hearing, seem to forget that synths are equipped with the ability to actually  _ listen.  _ He can only imagine the secrets Takahashi knows. If they ignore a synth, god only knows what robots overhear. 

“How do you know about that, Valentine?” Dino sneers, tapping his gun against the glass separating them, “Pretty sure I ain’t never played with you.” 

“Oh, I heard Skinny’s guys talking about it. They were pretty heated, too, and word is that Skinny’s gettin’ pretty sick of how you always seem to be winning. Finds it  _ suspicious _ .” 

Dino’s face pales instantly.  _ Bingo.  _ “I-, that’s not true! They’re all just jealous I got the brains to figure out poker better than them!” Nick doubts that. “What else’d you hear, Valentine? Answer or I’ll make sure things get a whole lot less comfortable for you, you hear?”

This had all been so easy Nick’s tempted to feel bad. He shrugs lazily. “Heard something about a book Dino’s got, one full of names. Rumor has it your’s is in there, scratched out a couple times.” He decides to allow himself a little fun. “Right next to it? Little doodle of a shark...holding  _ cards _ .” Ok, maybe that was a little much.

Dino’s brow furrows and Nick swears he can hear the gears slowly turning, his eyes widening as they finally click into place. “Oh-,...oh Jesus, there’s no way. I-,...oh god, shit, I gotta’ talk to Skinny, I gotta-.” Dino stops, glances to his left and suddenly raises his gun. “What the fuck is-”

A sudden shot rings out and Nick leaps onto his feet, yellow gaze widening. Dino staggers back, clutching his shoulder, and then there’s another shot. He howls with pain and fires back, the sound echoing through the emptied vault. One more shot and Dino’s fallen out of sight. 

“There’s the terminal!” The voice is female, strangely familiar, and a figure rushes past the window towards it. “Hold on, Nicky, we’ll get you of there!” Piper’s face is abruptly pressed to the window. “Just give a second, ok?”

“Piper?” Nick stares in shock, “What the hell are you doing down here? How did you-”

She grins. Always two steps ahead, that one. Nick admires that. “You really think Ellie wasn’t worried about you, Nick? She gave us the head start.”  _ Us?  _ Before he can ask, Piper glances to the side, “I thought you said lawyers were supposed to be good with words.”

Lawyer, he recognizes that word. Or, rather, Old Nick did. Old Nick knew what that was and in turn, Nick feels a strange, distant sort of familiarity with the occupation. 

“I didn’t go to school for three extra years to break into shitty old  _ computers,  _ Piper.” There’s an unfamiliar voice now, female, and she sighs loudly in frustration. “I’ll try it again, it locked me out. Stupid fucking-”

“Don’t want to go and add to the sense of urgency here,” Nick steps towards the window, “But Skinny’s boys are on rotation. We only have a few minutes before some other thug shows up. Personally, my first guess is always something that starts with an ‘ _ M’ _ , if it’s an option.”

Luckily, it seems the next attempt is successful as he hears the door click. Piper barrels through a moment later, dark brown eyes fraught with worry. “Holy shit, Nick, you really got yourself in it this time. You ok? They haven’t done anything to you, have they? Ellie’s been worried sick and-”

He holds up a metal finger. “Woah now, Piper, you’re gonna’ pass out if you don’t stop for breath there. You can interview me once we get out of here, how’s that sound? Pretty sure I owe you an exclusive for this, but that won’t happen unless we actually manage to get the hell out of here.” Nick pauses as the other woman steps through the door, the panel beneath his brow arching in curiosity. (If nothing less, he was glad the Institute at least gave him the ability to do  _ that. _ ) “Guess I should be thanking you too, whoever you are.” 

She’s a little taller than Piper, taller than most women in the Commonwealth, actually, and has the most pure red hair he’s ever seen. Even John back in the city couldn’t cook up a dye like that. It’s cut just below her shoulders in what Nick distantly recognizes as a popular pre-war style. Her features are sharp but undeniably pretty, though he suspects she might be prettier still if bold green eyes weren’t all but bulging out of her head. 

“You’re a robot?”

Nick huffs, eyes rolling in their mechanical sockets. “Do I look like a Mr. Handy to you, lady? I’m a  _ synth _ .” 

“Give her a break, Nicky,” Piper interjects, “She’s new around here, ok? She doesn’t-, she’s learning about all of this.” 

Nick considers that a moment, watches the woman’s pale cheeks quickly flush. She looks embarrassed. Maybe she hadn’t known better. “So, just who exactly is the other member of my rescue committee?” 

The woman blinks before returning his gaze, warm fingers closing around his own in what he notes is a firm handshake, clearly practiced. “Mina Sullivan. I’m sorry, I hadn’t meant to be rude. I-, I haven’t met a synth before, I didn’t know what to expect.” She sounds sincere and he smiles. 

“Ah, so I’m your first synth, huh?” His hand retreats and he reaches for a cigarette, “The Institute’s better at, shall we say, making more refined models now. I’m the old tech, you see. Most of em’ now look so human you can’t even tell the difference.” Nick inhales, nods towards Piper. “You drag her into this, Piper? I know you’re always looking for a scoop, but this is dangerous even by your standards.” 

“For once, it wasn’t me, though I’m glad we found ya’. Diamond City needs you back.” 

“So, just what exactly caused you to hunt down an old synth, Ms. Sullivan?” His gaze swivels towards the woman. 

She’s silent for a long moment and Nick watches a current of emotions swim over her features. Mina swipes her tongue over her lower lip, inhales slowly, and every word sounds equal parts pained and precise. “My husband, he was murdered and...and my son was kidnapped. I need your help tracking down the people that did this. I want them to pay. I want my son back.” 

Taking a slow drag of his cigarette, Nick considers that. She doesn’t exactly  _ look _ the vengeful type, not remotely like the scorned former boyfriends and abandoned wives that occasionally sweep into his office, but there’s a bitterly cold determination in her gaze that informs him she’s serious. Whatever she’s done to get here, to him, she’ll do even more. “Vengeance normally isn’t the sort of business I try and dabble in, but I’ll help you out. Pretty sure I owe you one for this.”

Her shoulders tremble and Nick’s certain he can spy tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, a wavering smile appearing. “Thank you.” 

If he had a heart, it’d ache. Just another missing poster to be littered around the Commonwealth, another family member or lover or friend or child suddenly gone without a trace. He’d find them all, if he could, but whenever the Institute is taking them, it’s beyond anyone’s reach. “You can thank me once we get out of here,” Nick states softly. Metal fingers pat gently against her shoulder. “But if we don’t get a move on, I highly doubt you’ll ever get the chance. I’m lucky Skinny hasn’t let his boys do a number on me, but something tells me he won’t exactly hold the door open for us.” 

“Then we’ll get out exactly how we got in,” Piper says brightly and Nick takes note of the gun in her hand, “Pretty sure the Wealth’ is better off with these assholes gone.” 

Mina swipes a tongue over her lower lip, setting her jaw with a firm nod towards him. “Lead the way.”

\----------- 

_ Twenty-seven.  _ It’s easier now than it had been the first few days, killing people. Each time doesn’t feel crippling anymore, like a blow to the chest and something creeping in her veins. Instead, Mina feels hollow. She isn’t sure if that should frighten or relieve her. There’s blood on her jacket now and she sighs quietly, trying to flick it off, but it stays. 

She’s embarrassed that she has no idea how to get back to Diamond City even though she’s known these streets for almost a decade. Everything’s different now, entire blocks consumed by rubble or taken over by raiders or just fallen into the decay that comes with two hundred years. Piper’s also told her to be on the lookout for super mutants in the city. She has no idea what they are, but Piper assures her she’ll be able to tell immediately. Lovely, one more thing to have to be on guard for. 

“That was smart of you,” Nick glances towards her, “Getting Darla out of there.”

Mina smiles gently, almost sheepishly, “She was old enough to know better, but she was in over her head. People get sucked into things and keep going because they don’t know how to get out. I see it, well, I used to see it a lot. Sometimes you just need to remind them there’s other options.” 

It’s eerie, how human his smile is despite the fact it’s etched onto metal features, controlled by wires and circuits, but it’s comforting somehow. “Her parents are going to be relieved. Maybe if she tries really hard, she can spin it as a kidnapping and not young, impulsive love.” 

Piper sighs almost wistfully, though it’s twinged with her usual sarcasm. “Oh, to be young and stupid again. Never did anything that idiotic when I was 17, though.”

Mina nearly chokes, “17?! Are you serious? I thought she had to be, I don’t know, 25?”

“Nah, she’s what-, 17, Nick? 18?”

“17,” He nods and Mina blinks. “The Commonwealth has a way of aging people fast.” 

She flushes, nearly embarrassed to have been caught so off guard. How  _ easy  _ it’d been before the bombs, back when there’d been enough water for them to water their lawns, dump it into prize winning rose bushes and pools during the summer. Mina wonders if they’d hate her if they had any idea how blissfully simple those years had been, when her greatest worry outside of work had been what Halloween costume to buy for Shaun. Nate had wanted him to be a cowboy, she’d found a dinosaur costume she adored. 

How dreadfully, painfully, blissfully  _ easy  _ life had been. 

Piper pauses their walk to root briefly through an abandoned newspaper stand, holding a hand up before shoving her head into it. “One sec’,” Her muffled voice rings out. Mina casts another quick glimpse at Nick while they wait. The afternoon sun glimmers off of his faded skin, catching on exposed circuitry. She doesn’t want to be rude, given she’s already gone and done that at their initial meeting, but he’s all at once the most interesting and frightening thing she’s ever seen. Equal parts human and inhuman, familiar and alien all at once. There’s a triumphant noise from inside the stand and Piper’s head appears a moment later, a faded newspaper clutched in her hand. It’s folded delicately into her pocket, placed with one final, affectionate pat. 

“Is paper rare now, too?” Mina asks softly and Nick casts a curious glimpse in her direction. She’d been waiting to explain….well, everything to him once they got back to his office. They hadn’t exactly had time to chat while Dino had furiously ordered his men to take them out once Darla had sprinted off. 

“ _ Quality _ paper is,” Piper clarifies and falls back in stride alongside them, “The old newspapers are great, way better than what we have now.” 

Mina reaches into her bag as they continue walking and pulls out a carton of water. It’s a rarity these days, clean water, and she’d learned very quickly to avoid it if it was tainted with radiation. She’d been desperate the first day, throat dry and stomach aching, but within a few steps towards the river she’d felt it. The radiation had made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, a silent, invisible presence that she could feel deep down in her bones. It’s everywhere, Piper’s explained, in most of the food now and in the water and in the ground, especially near the old military sites. She supposes humanity’s adapted to it over the years. One glance down at her pale arm, adorned by a small bruise, and she worries she hasn’t. 

“Lawyer, huh?” Nick glances in her direction as they past the first spray painted sign for the city, “Pretty sure we haven’t had one of those up here since before the war. Where’re you from, exactly? Hate to break it to you, but I’m not sure we have any firms hiring.” 

She cracks a tired smile before her brow furrows. No one seems to know what a lawyer is here, much less what firms are.

Nick seems to guess her confusion and a shoulder ambles upwards in a loose shrug. “Long story short, I kind of have some memories of what this place was like before the war. The Institute put them in, suppose I must have been some sort of test run, but admittedly it’s a little exciting being the only one around here who yearns for the good old days of c _ ar washes _ .” 

Mina laughs before she can help it. It feels good to laugh. She likes his dry sense of humor, crisp and clever. He catches her gaze, seemingly waiting for an answer. “It’s a long story, too. I’ll explain it all back at your office,” She finally states, “But I used to live here. A long time ago, a  _ really  _ long time ago.” 

Nick’s features don’t move, bright gaze unwavering, but she somehow gets the sense he  _ knows.  _ Before she can ask, Piper sighs at her side and whips out her pistol. “Ugh, looks like ferals. Thought the guards got the last of em’ a few days ago. Nice to know McDonough was ready to lock me outside under imminent threat of death or at least a really ugly.” 

“Ferals?”

“They don’t have ferals where you’re from?” Nick asks curiously, slowly enough that she suspects he knows the answer. 

She opens her mouth to reply, but pauses as she watches something stir beneath an overturned car. It’s a small motion, something she couldn’t have noticed on her own, and her eyes widen in horror as a withered arm appears. It drags itself forward, then upwards onto near skeletal legs. It must have been a dress once, but what little clothing it wears has been reduced to nothing but rags. 

It immediately reminds her of the pictures she’d seen from World War II back when she’d been a child in school or the images of mummies in a book her mother had bought her. It’s horrifying and familiar all at once, enough Mina can’t turn away even as her stomach twists in disgust. It takes a wavering step forward. It seems to propel itself unevenly through a series of jerking, lurching motions, then without warning breaks into a furious sprint. 

She’s paralyzed with fear, frozen, but Nick fires without so much as flinching. The creature snarls as a burst of blood explodes from its chest, only to fall backwards and twitch. It doesn’t move after that. 

“We need to hurry,” Nick nods towards them both, voice as calm as always, “The noise will’ve attracted more.” 

Mina can’t stop staring, has to be forcibly nudged forward by Piper. Nate had taken her to a drive in theatre just after they’d gotten married. He had neglected to tell her it’d be a horror flick, filled to the brim with the walking dead in all their withered agony, and he’d laughed every time she flinched. She’d punched his arm for that, told him he’ll be the dead man by the end of the night, but had worked to hide a smile. Mina recalls that she never found out how the movie had ended because Nate had silenced her frightened yelps with kisses, his hand gently sliding up her thigh. 

“Mina-, Mina, come  _ on _ ,” Piper hisses and she’s grabbing onto her sleeve now, pulling her forward. 

She snaps herself back into reality and wraps her finger around the trigger, breaking into a sprint with the rest of them. There’s another low snarl, gurgling from behind a pile of broken bricks, and it’s immediately silenced by a quick shot from Piper. They run down another alley, this one tighter than the last, and a rush of relief floods through her as she spies another sign for the city. Mina sucks in a breath, leaping quickly over an overturned stop sign, “Are we-”

Her word is cut off as something grabs a hold of her foot and pulls her backwards. Mina screams, knees slamming into the concrete beneath them, and as she rolls onto her back she finds herself face to face with one of them. It’s all the more sickening up close. Jagged, rotting teeth and sallow flesh all but slipping from cheekbones and jaw. There’s no nose to it, just gaping, black nostrils, and the smell off of it is enough to make her vomit. More terrifying than everything else, perhaps, is how vacant the eyes are. Empty and purely, perfectly lifeless. 

Mina screams again, acting on instinct by kicking it in the face. It growls as her boot makes contact, jaw snapping as it falls back. She kicks again, then again, and Piper yells behind her. She spies another one slowly rising from beneath an overturned trashcan now, lumbering slowly onto its feet. 

She remembers she has a gun just as a shot rings out through the alley, loud enough it pains her ears. Lifting the pistol, she fires quickly into the creature before her. It shrieks in agony, skeletal fingers clutching an arm, but it doesn’t move as she fires another shot into neck. Nick steps forward and quickly, easily, dispatches its partner with one last bullet. 

“Holy shit, Mina, you ok?” Piper kneels down beside her as she pants wildly, eyes wide with terror, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see any more of them! I should’ve slowed down!”

“What,” Mina sucks in a ragged breath, voice thick with revulsion, “The  _ fuck  _ was that?” 

“A feral ghoul,” Nick explains gently and she’s grateful for the hand on her shoulder. He helps ease her up onto her feet. “When humans take in too much radiation, sometimes they turn into, uh, what everyone’s taken to calling  _ ghouls _ .” He pauses to retrieve a pack of cigarettes from his pockets, holds one out to her. It’s a kind gesture, but a trembling shake of her head says enough. Nick lights it and continues, inhaling slowly. “The feral ones are ghouls that lost their minds, don’t remember what it is to be human any more. They’re dormant most of the time, but they’re hungry bastards if they smell or hear anything that could be on the menu.”

Something in his words clicks then. Mina feels her stomach twist again and she stares back at the dessicated husk. “That...you mean that was a  _ human _ ?”

“Yeah,” Piper states softly, “A lot of em’ are pre-war, people who survived the bombs but didn’t survive the radiation.”

_ Twenty eight.  _

She’s certain she’s going to vomit then, sits down in a crouch and sucks in a sharp breath of air. How many people did she know, did she  _ love _ , become reduced to this? How many neighbors and employers and friends and every day normal people who just wanted to fucking  _ live  _ slowly turned into this? Rotted away on the outside and the inside in the ruined heap of a world? 

Mina continues to stare at the two corpses while her eyes slowly fill with tears. Did she know them? Had she ever seen these two, even just in passing? Had she ever walked past them on the way to the grocery store, honked at them in traffic? Her hands tremble wildly as she holsters her pistol. 

Nothing, nothing in the whole god damn world, not nukes, not power, not anything everyone fucking claimed to be fighting for was ever worth  _ this.  _

“Do we bury them?” She finally whispers, voice hoarse. 

Piper and Nick exchange glances. “I...we kinda’ get used to them out here, Blue. We don’t, not really," Piper says. 

Mina slowly stands, runs a hand through messied hair, and the horror has turned to pity now. “They were people,” She states quietly, “They didn’t want this. No one would want this.” It doesn’t feel right, not doing anything at all, and leaving them to rot all the more in the middle of a ruined street. She spies a crop of purple flowers growing against a crumbling brick wall, bright against the grey and iron and dust. “Just a second, ok? I’ll just...just a second.” 

She doesn’t recognize the flowers. They didn’t have these before the bombs, whatever they are, and while they look harsh there’s nonetheless a beauty to them. Picking two of them, Mina gently places them over the sunken chests of the ghouls. It’s a bizarre contrast, something so inherently unnatural with something almost delicate resting against them. It’s not enough, but it’s the best she can do. 

Piper and Nick come to stand silently at her side as she stares down at them. Mina finally closes her eyes and the world is silent for once. There’s no distant chatter of gunfire, no snarling raiders, just the quiet breeze whistling through the skeleton of a city. With her eyes closed, it’s peaceful. 

  
With her eyes closed, she buries the world she knew behind once and for all. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter's a bit short, but I promise there's little things in there with substantial pay off later! I've been home with my family after the semester so I haven't been around, but now that I'm back on my own, expect a new chapter roughly every other day :)

She’s never particularly cared for cigarettes. Plenty of other lawyers had picked up the habit as a way to cut stress and hell, it was a better habit that some of the stuff people wandered into if nothing else. Nate hadn’t smoked, but the old man across the street in Sanctuary Hills had on his morning walk. Mina could always smell it when she went to grab the mail, her nose scrunching in faint disdain as the scent lingered. It had always smelled rough to her, dense and bitter, but the scent of Nick’s cigarette proves nearly comforting now. It’s something familiar to cling to, a scent reminiscent of the old world. 

“Thanks again,” She flashes a quick, tired smile over the rim of her bowl of noodles, “Nice to know noodles are still popular as ever.” 

“Takahashi’s talented,” Nick nods, “Most popular bot’ in the Commonwealth, even if he’s not much of a conversationalist.” 

She sucks down another spoonful, warmth radiating through her chest with every bite. “Piper told me I need to be careful with what I ate, this is ok, right? I don’t have to take the Rad-outtahere or whatever it’s called?” 

“You’re all good,” Nick takes another drag of his cigarette, “The older stuff and water, that’s the stuff you gotta’ watch out for. Not exactly an expert myself given,” A mechanical hand gestures loosely over him, “My situation, but you’ll want to cook off meat, too. Nothing raw or you’ll be ingesting more rads than anything helpful.”

 Mina pauses, brow furrowing, “Jesus christ, people eat stuff _raw_?” 

“If they’re hungry enough,” He shrugs, “People’ll do a lot of stuff when they’re hungry.” 

Her cheeks flush with embarrassment as she realizes how pretentious she must sound. Of course no one eaten anything raw before the war, not when there were innumerable bots to help and grocery stores filled to the brim with anything you wanted, restaurants where you didn’t even have to cook the food yourself. Nick seems to sense her discomfort and pats a hand against her shoulder, “You’ll get used to things with time. Not the first time a vaultie’s had to adjust. Hell, if you tell most people you’re from a vault, they’ll probably pity you.” 

“Do you recommend that I tell them I’m technically over two hundred years old now, too?”

Nick’s smile widens. “Whole Wealth’ is going to know, thanks to Piper’s newspaper. You’ll be the talk of the entire place.” 

Diamond Ciy is quieter now, the market and streets largely empty. It’s nearly peaceful here. She appreciates the stillness. It’s easier to take the city in now, sweep her eyes over the empty stalls and alleys without fear of catching someone’s too curious gaze. It’s also nice not to have that crazy lady shouting about synths, as well. 

She spies Piper’s house down below, leans against the walkway’s bannister to catch a better look. Once they’d gotten back to the city, she’d practically sped off to get the newest edition of  _ Publick Occurrences  _ off the press. Dogmeat had been overjoyed to see her again, panting and barking and yelping, but for now he had been placed back with an equally thrilled Nat while Mina had spoken with Nick. Nat seemed to adore the dog; Mina couldn’t blame her. 

Nick, much to her amazement, had recognized Dogmeat, who nuzzled his skeletal hand out of clear familiarity. If Dogmeat trusted Nick, Mina had no doubt she could. 

A cool breeze stirs her hair and Mina shivers, burrowing down beneath her jacket. “This place is incredible. I...I don’t know, I didn’t think there’d be anything left.” 

Nick leans against the railing too, the neon lights glittering against the dark sky below them. “Different than it used to be, I take it?” A finger leans up to tap against the side of his head. “I know some stuff, kind of...hazy memories of the world before the war. Not that I saw any of it, of course, but enough to get a sense of it.”  

Mina smiles distantly, takes another sip of her noodles. “Pretty different, yeah, but I mean, the fact that there’s some kind of order, here? That there’s  _ something _ left at all, even if it might not seem like a lot? Humanity’s resilient. Ugly, angry? Absolutely, we’re all of that, too, and I’ve seen it already since...everything started, but there’s hope too.” She bites her lip to hold back the memories of the man in the Red Rocket, his hot breath against her neck and fingers curling into her skin. Yes, there had been him, but there’d been Piper, as well. There’d been Ellie. “For all the ugliness, I...I don’t know, there’s good, too.” 

Nick’s smile softens and in the darkness, if it weren’t for his pale, glowing gaze, he’d look human. “There’s good people here. It can be hard to find, sometimes, to remember, but there’s a hell of a lot of good people, kiddo. You may just have to hunt a little bit harder than you did before.” 

_ Kiddo.  _ She can’t remember the last time anyone referred to her as being young, but the nickname makes her smile. “People like you.”

 He grows quiet for a long moment, takes a slow drag of his cigarette. “I do what I can.” 

 “Old lady high as a kite off some chems told me to come find you,” Mina confesses softly. She hadn’t explained that when they’d sat down to talk in his office. “If that’s not destiny, I don’t know what its.” 

 “Well, I’ll admit I’m pleased when I get referrals, even if they’re of the unorthodox kind.” 

 She reaches into her pocket and retrieves the bundle of caps Ellie had given her, holds it out towards him. “I told your secretary she didn’t need to give me this. You can take it back, you’ve done more than enough already by agreeing to help. She’s really nice, Ellie, but I guarantee I’ll end up owing you a hell of a lot more than this by the time we’re done. Kellogg won’t be easy to find. He’s dangerous. Your help means a lot. ” 

 Nick immediately shakes his head. “No, you’ve earned that. A deal’s a deal, kind of you as that is. Ellie’s relieved and hey, I should slip a few caps your way for getting me out of there. I was in desperate need of some fresh air and some peace and quiet. The dumb ones always talk a lot, I’ve found, and let me tell you, Dino’s crew sure was talkative.” 

 Mina laughs before she can help it, setting her empty bowl aside. She likes Nick already, a hell of a lot. It’s nice to not only have someone she can trust, but someone she _genuinely_ likes. 

 “You were pretty good with that pistol. 10 mm, isn’t it?” 

“Piper picked it out for me, I trusted her judgment,” Mina laughs and hands it over to him, “I like it. I mean, I don’t really like guns all that much, but it’s lighter than the last one I had and it’s better than the tire iron I started out with. Had to convince some lady I wasn’t a synth before she’d give it to me, though. She, uh, seems like she had a few screws loose.” A pause and a slip of a wry grin. “No offense.”  

Nick smirks back and squints at the pistol, slowly turning it over in his hands. “None taken. You’ll get better at it with time, but want a tip?”

“Jesus, anything would help.” 

His smirk softens. “Don’t close your eyes when you shoot. Back with the ferals and with Dino’s crew, you closed your eyes really quick each time you pulled the trigger.” She flushes and he hands it back gently. “You control it, every aspect of it. Don’t let that little thing thing it controls you, you understand?”

“I’ve never killed anyone. I...I don’t even think I’d ever gotten in a fight, much less shot someone, before all of this.” A tongue swipes over her lower lip. “Does it get easier, Nick?”

“It does,” He confesses softly and strikes up another cigarette. “But try not to let it get too easy. That’s when people become animals, when it becomes second nature.” 

They sit in silent for a few more minutes, the smoke from Nick’s cigarette lazily wafting into the air. It’s a peaceful sort of silence, a gentle stillness she doesn’t think she’s known since she woke up. Everything, all at once, is familiar and foreign. It occurs to her that if she were to look in a mirror now, she might not recognize herself. Finally, Nick snubs the cigarette out with the heel of his shoe. “We’ll meet up first thing in the morning, see if we can find ourselves a key to Kellogg’s house. How’s that sound?” 

“Great, Nick.” 

He looks at her, pale gaze untelling, but finally smiles faintly. “Don’t stay up too late now, kiddo.” Nick turns and walks away. 

She allows herself to continue looking out over the vast darkness of the Wealth’, pulling her jacket all the more over her shoulders. It’s startling how impossibly  _ dark  _ the world is now. She spies a few distant campfires, old lighting rigs hooked up inside hollowed building, but beyond the stadium lights of Diamond City the world is largely dark. There’s no more gleaming skyscrapers, no freeways lit with ambling cars, no neighborhoods or grocery stores just...emptiness. It unsettles her and she shivers, but not from the cold this time. 

Glancing over her shoulder, she spies what she suspects is a bar further up the grand stands. Judging by the broad sign proclaiming it  _ The Colonial Taphouse,  _ it seems like a good enough place to spend some of the caps Ellie had refused to take back. _.  _ It was right about where she and Nate had sat, back when they’d come for a game. Against her better judgment, Mina begins to climb the stands and finally settles against the railing just outside. 

There’s a few people sitting on couches neatly arranged around a balcony, a Mr. Handy doling out drinks. They’re the cleanest people she’s seen in the Commonwealth, each neatly dressed in what would have been fashionable clothes even in her day, and it gives the distinct air of exclusivity. That suspicion is confirmed when the conversation and light laughter stall. She finds their gazes trained on her. 

Mina blinks, shifting her weight and turning her attention once more to Diamond City below and the ruins of Boston spread out against the dark horizon. So much for a drink. 

“Excuse me?” A woman suddenly appears at her side, painfully forced smile painted on her features. “Um, do you know where you are?” 

“Oh, uh-,” Pointing a finger towards the large sign, Mina shrugs. “Unless the sign is lying, it looks like the  _ Colonial Taphouse _ ?” 

“Mhm,” the woman nods, arms folding in front of her, “I take it you’re not from around here, are you?” 

“Nope. Is this private property or something?” 

“No, it’s not but well, I...well, I suppose there’s no polite way to say this, but we don’t normally have your kind up here, that’s all.” 

 “You mean lawyers?” Mina’s brow furrows and she turns, arms folding over her chest, “Gingers?” 

 Polite smile seems more strained. The woman gestures loosely towards Mina. “People from down on the _green_ , that’s all, or people outside the city. You have to understand, we take a great pride in _tradition_ up in the grand stands and-”

_So even nuclear war can’t get rid of the bourgeois_ , Mina thinks darkly. She rolls her eyes, interrupting. “Cool, so if it is public property, I have a right to stand here or is there some sort of legislative change I should be made aware of?” 

 The woman is no longer smiling and somehow, as minor as this is in comparison to, well, e _verything_ , it digs under her skin. All this way, all this ugliness and step after labored step, and now some crusty old woman is determined to tell her where she can and cannot go. The woman bristles and replies icily, “I’m sorry, don’t you know who I am? My family has been in the grand stands for _generations,_ I’m a-”

“I don’t give a fuck who you are,” Mina snaps back with another roll of her eyes, “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re living in the hollowed out ruins of a baseball stadium, lady. All the prime real estate got burned up two hundred years ago, there’s no bragging rights in this.” 

“How  _ dare  _ you?” She hisses now and there’s a small crowd growing, two men in carefully restored suits gathering behind her. Even the Mr. Handy manages to look annoyed, fans whirring as he floats towards her. “I-, I’ll call security! I refused to be spoken to like this by someone of...of your-”

“Income level? Lack of fashionable attire?” Mina nearly laughs now, anger simmering in her stomach and tainting her words. “First off, no one would have ever worn that dress after Labor Day, lady, it’s  _ white.  _ Everyone knows that. You’re currently drinking wine that’s probably filled to the brim with radiation and guess what, it’s not even  _ good  _ wine.” The Mr. Handy gasps, clearly affronted. “It’s not from France! Or even California for that matter! You’re drinking old, irradiated wine salvaged from some dank old cellar, wearing an off season dress in a fucking rusted  _ baseball  _ stadium!” Mina sucks in a breath, startled by the ferocity of her own reply. “And you have lipstick in your teeth.” 

Might as well finish off strong. 

“Security!” A man’s yelling now and there’s a certain thrill to all of this. She’s never gotten in trouble in the whole of her life. “Security! Can someone  _ please- _ ”

“Alright, alright,” There’s a tired sigh and a member of Diamond City security approaches, doubled over panting as he finishes climbing the bleachers. “What’s going on here? Jesus, you all are going to wake up half the city.” 

“This-, this  _ woman _ has been standing up here and verbally  _ assaulting  _ me! I have the right to enjoy  _ my  _ evening, free of any kind of barrage of insults or-” Now the others chime in and Mina rolls her eyes. 

“Everyone just calm down!” The guard sighs from behind the catcher’s mask, adjusting sunglasses over the plastic barrier in front. “Everyone, let’s just take a breath here, ok? No one’s injured, no one’s like, missing a limb or anything. Geez, you all need better things to worry about.” 

Mina’s pleasantly surprised by the lack of enthusiasm the guard clearly shows. She’d have suspected the city’s security to show abject deference. 

 The woman screeches, the man beside her gasping in outrage. “Excuse me? These are the _grand stands,_ we don’t need her kind coming up here and actively working to ruin our evenings!” 

 The man beside her sniffs. “While I understand some people are rightfully jealous of the type of lives we live, I don’t appreciate or respect that-”

 “You’re chock full of radiation and wearing a suit someone pulled off a corpse.” Mina replies blandly and the guard cocks an elbow into her side. She winces but remains quiet. 

 “Listen, let’s just figure this out neatly, ok? Preferably quickly and, if I might be so bold as to suggest it, quietly.” The guard sighs again and his hand comes to rest on Mina’s arm. “I’ll get here out of her, ok, but next time, you could all do pretty well to remember that she’s really not wrong.” 

 The woman blinks, mouth opening in shock and a hand comes to rest over her heart. “I’ll be speaking to Mayor McDonough about this!” 

 “Uh-,” The guard quickly turns, pulling Mina along with him, “We should get a move on.” He moves her away from the crowd swiftly and she’s surprised he can see the stairs from behind his glasses. 

 “Listen, officer,” Mina sighs and the fight’s gone from her now, replaced by exhaustion, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause a scene. I would really, _really_ love it if I didn’t have to spend,” 

 He snorts, hand releasing from her arm. “I’m not gonna’ get you in trouble, just...be careful, you know? Lots of people around here aren’t exactly what I might call _chill._ The bombs didn’t manage to take out the bourgeois, they’re tougher than radroaches.” 

 She perks a brow, impressed by the vocabulary. “So I’m free to go?”   

“Free as the wind. I mean, it’d be really nice if you didn’t get any in any more trouble, but yeah, you’re good to go.” The guard glances over his shoulder, ensuring they’re out of earshot. “Should I expect you to go and rile up any more crusty old rich people while you’re here?”

 The corner of her mouth nearly twitches into a grin. “Not overly fond of societal inequality, but you’ve my word I’ll be on my best behavior.” 

 “10 mm, huh? Woulda’ taken you for a rifle kind of woman.” The guard stops at the end of the winding stairway, gesturing loosely to her hip.

 “Anything’s better than a tire iron,” Mina laughs and hopes he doesn’t notice the tinge of bitterness in it, “Tried a rifle for the first time a few days ago, but I couldn’t keep my hand steady enough for it to really be of any use. Honestly, I’m not even much of a gun person. I’m a pacifist if they, uh, still exist.” 

 “Afraid they’re pretty much gone at this point, save maybe in the vaults.” There’s a brief moment of silence and the guard adjusts his sunglasses over the front of his catcher’s mask one more time and Mina has the sense his gaze is assessing behind them. “Not gonna’ lie, kinda’ figured you would have had better things to do than picking fights in the grand stands.” 

 “Excuse me?” Her brow furrows and anger creeps into her voice. 

He holds up a hand. “Didn’t mean any offense by it. Just, you know, figured every waking moment would be spent looking for your kid. I’m sorry about that, by the way, I really am. I hope you find him.” 

 Her tongue swipes over her lower lip, “Jesus, word travels fast. I guess everyone must read _Publick Occurences_ then, huh?” Mina sticks her hands in her pockets, the night air swiftly growing cooler and cooler. “Thanks. I...It’s been a rough few days, but I’ll find him.” 

 “I know you will.” He nods with a certainty that she appreciates. A nod is snapped quickly towards her and he’s off without another word. 

 She stands still then, eyes slowly moving over the bright neon littered throughout the field. Nick believes in her, Piper believes in her and apparently, now a guard, as well. “Wait,” Mina looks over her shoulders, “What’s your-”

 But the guard is gone already, disappeared amidst the rusted homes and tight alleys. Mina blinks, then shrugs. Ignorning the tempting scent of noodles, she quietly makes her way back to Piper’s house. A part of her is distantly embarassed that she all but snapped at a bunch of rich old assholes, but there’s a strange kind of relief to it. It had felt good to not hold back, to speak her mind and voice the churning frustration deep within her into existence. God knows she hadn’t been allowed that before the bombs. Deference was expected in the courtroom, no matter what. Nate had been there to help her calm down during particularly infuriating cases, to rub her shoulders and run his fingers through his hair and murmur his unshakable, unmovable belief in her. 

Her eyes sting again and she quickly blinks the tears away. For Nate, no matter what comes, no matter what happens, this must be for Nate. This must be for Shaun. 

Mina shuts the large door as sofly as she can, slipping off her boots and kneeling down to greet Dogmeat. He’s thrilled to see her, all slobbering kisses and quiet yelps until she shushes him with equal affection. The silence of the home assures her that Piper and Nat must be asleep upstairs and as she crawls beneath the worn blanket draped over the couch, she spies a large pile of newspapers in the corner. 

Confusion begins to creep into her now and she slowly rises, heart begin to beat faster and faster. A finger is pressed to the paper on top, still yet warm to the touch and carefully folded. The newspapers hadn’t been delivered yet. No one, save Piper and Nat, have seen these, much less read them. They’re barely off the presses. 

She feels sick, but more potent still is the rising horror. There’s no way the guard could have known Shaun, there’s no way the guard  _ should _ have known about Shaun. 

Just who exactly had found her?  

 

 

 


End file.
